Sunday, July 16, 2006

What's New With Me

I'll bet you're dying to know. I haven't been online very much lately, so I haven't been updating. My apologies to those of you who enjoy reading my frequent posts--I hate to disappoint. Alas, it can't be helped for the moment. So, here's a run-down on how I'm doing, just in case I'm not able to post again for several days.

Editing: I've been editing a lot. My friend Jan has written a wonderful journal, and I'm doing my best to help her make it into a wonderful book. Editing takes a lot of time, so I've been spending a lot of time ... well, editing. I'll let you know when the book is published so you can order multiple copies and make Jan a best-selling author and millionaire. She deserves it, after putting up with my ultra-picky editorial comments.

Home: I haven't been home a lot. The Hubster is a summer camp director, so he's been home even less than I have. Poor kitties. It's been a quiet house this summer.

Piano: I've been practicing every chance I get, though my not-being-at-home situation has decreased those opportunities rather significantly. Pieces are coming along. Read all about my progress and today's practice at Waterfall's Practice Log.

Music: Between the Swannanoa Chamber Music Festival and the Brevard Music Center, it's been a great summer for taking in musical performances. In just the last month, I've seen/heard Cosi fan Tutte, Mahler's "Titan" Symphony, Brahms's Second Piano Concerto, a percussion concerto, Mendelssohn's D-minor Piano Trio, and much, much more, all performed by top-notch musicians.

Employment: I think I mentioned here at some point that I resigned from my teaching job. I may go back and teach a single writing class in the fall, but I couldn't do the soul-sucking 100-plus hour a week schedule anymore. I'm not sure what to do now. I'm thinking about freelance writing and editing, though I'm not sure if that will be enough to put food on the table.

Insomnia: I finally went to the doctor, and she gave me a prescription for Temazepam (Restoril). I've been taking it for about four days. Four nights, actually. It seems to be helping. I wonder how long it takes a body to recover from ten months of chronic insomnia.

Running: The knee pain kicked in. So much for a Someday Marathon. As long as I do a combination of walking and jogging and don't run more than four miles at a time, I'm OK. So running will be a part of my workout routine, but it won't be the main thing.

Laptop: I finally got a new laptop. His name is Franz. Everyone, say hello to Franz.